Question

: A solid fuel formed by heating coal in the absence of air:
A.Hydrogen
B.Coke
C.Methane
D.Coal tar

Answer 1

Hint: The process of heating any substance in absence of air is called “Destructive Distillation” and this process is carried out in a closed container or a closed system collecting all the volatile solutes that are given off during the distillation. The solid fuel is also a form of carbon.

Complete answer:
The destructive distillation of coal involves decomposition of the unprocessed material achieved by heating it to a high temperature. This is an application of pyrolysis and generally applies to the processing of organic materials in the absence of air. The process breaks up or cracks large molecules. Coke, coal gas, gas carbon, coal tar, ammonia liquor, and cola oil are the examples of the substance that are obtained by the destructive distillation of coal.

Hence, the solid fuel formed by heating coal in the absence of air is “Coke” and the correct answer is option B.
Note:
Application of the destructive distillation are as follows:
Destructive distillation is used to obtain methanol and turpentine from wood. The destructive distillation of wood also leaves behind a residue of solid charcoal which is a substance of wide commercial applications.
The destructive distillation of wood also produces several other substances of commercial importance such as terpenes and tar.
One of the most important applications of destructive distillation is in the processing of coal in order to obtain several important compounds that have been mentioned previously.
The processing of polymer wastes by destructive distillation can afford their constituent monomers which can be reused in suitable processes.